Long Live The Beard, Day 0-60

Aug 14, 2015

It’s 3:00 PM, Sunday, June 14th, I’m waiting for the clock to tick
faster as I plan to meet my friends over coffee. I need something to kill an
hour, I comb my hair again and again. Suddenly, while looking at myself in the
mirror, I realize it’s time to clear of my weekly stubble. I tuck in my shirt,
go to a nearby salon, and chop off the last strand of hair on my face.

Fast forward two weeks, it’s 11:00 AM, I’m still in bed, scratching my stubble,
contemplating ideas for the weekend. I often start my weekend by having the best
bath of the week, which is preceded by a clean shave. Itchy face is something I
just can’t stand. However, because of my involuntary nature of procastination, I
ended up not shaving that Saturday. Later that day, I realized that a stubble
really looks good on me (which is generally the case with any man). That’s when
I decided I’ll test my perseverance and grow a real beard.

There is always a period when a man with a beard shaves it off. This period
does not last. He returns headlong to his beard. — Jean Cocteau

First week is arguably the most easiest to go through. Day 10 is when the
itching starts which is bearable only for about a week. However, this time I had
decided that I would put my determination to test, and sustain the pain. Each
day (from 10th day onwards) happened to be itchier than previous day, but I
somehow managed to reach day 25, and that’s when the pain subsided. This was a
suprise as I had never crossed 21 days, presuming that the itchiness would never
stop.

As no one in my family has ever grown a real beard, watching YouTube videos was
my only choice to get some advice. John
Diehl and Eric
Bandholz are my
go to guys for beard grooming tips. They have, over the years, grown an epic
beard, maintained it and have helped a lot of first time beardsman (including
me) to do the same. This is, in a way, a big shout out to The Beard
Baron and The Beard
Brand.

Today, August 14th marks the end of two months of a decently well
groomed beard. Here, I document my journey towards growing an
epic moustache
and beard (pun intented).

Yes, I understand that I am nowhere close to having a great beard, but I am
determined enough to make sure I end up with one. My tentative plan is to let my
beard grow as much as possible while keeping the neck and cheek lines intact,
and also avoiding unnecessary growth outwards by keeping the ends well trimmed.
Hopefully, I won’t have to deal with the repercussions of looking older.

I am no expert, but if you have any questions, feel free to tweet them @decached.